


Do Not Enter The Witch's House

by The_Alice_Killer



Series: One-Shots [52]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Betrayal, Escape, Gen, Horror, Not spoiling much, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25275028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Alice_Killer/pseuds/The_Alice_Killer
Summary: There's a reason everyone is warned against going there, but not everyone always listens. Maybe don't show up if you and the witch have a grudge, you know?That was how Afterglow and Roselia found themselves locked inside the Witch's house with no way out except to go in deeper.
Series: One-Shots [52]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1343500
Kudos: 4





	Do Not Enter The Witch's House

**Author's Note:**

> I took a lot of inspiration from Majo no Ie for this. I wanted to write something like this for a while and I finally figured out what I wanted it to be.

"Where on earth are those three?"

Tomoe and Himari were currently waiting at the CiRCLE for the other three girls to show up. They were already 10 minutes behind schedule. It was a little concerning. Normally they'd get a message if someone was going to be late.

"Hi, guys!"

Roselia entered the room. Tomoe and Himari greeted them.

"Have you guys seen the others at all?" Himari asked, "We can't get a hold of them."

"I don't remember seeing them." Lisa shrugged.

"It was only in the morning that I saw any of them." Yukina said.

"I was talking to Moca at lunch but that was it." Ako added.

"Where on earth did those three end up?" Tomoe sighed, "It's not like them to be late without informing us."

"Yeah. It does seem a little strange." Lisa nodded.

A few minutes later, Moca ran into the room.

"Moca, where were you? Where are Ran and Tsugumi?" Himari asked.

"T-they... they're heading towards the woods to... to find the witch's house... well, Tsugu is. Ran is chasing after her." Moca was panting hard from running all the way here.

"W-why is Tsugu going there!?" Tomoe asked.

"Some kids were teasing her about being a scaredy-cat. They dared her to do that." Moca replied, "Come on, we have to go get her back."

"Let's go." Himari nodded.

"We can come too, if you want." Lisa offered.

"Sure. Let's hope nothing happened to them."

They all set off to go find where Ran and Tsugumi were at. Ran had decided to chase after Tsugumi. Tsugumi had told her and Moca what was going on and had stated she would do it. She ran off before either could talk her out of it. Ran didn't hesitate and immediately chased after her.

Ran couldn't catch up. Tsugumi had enough of a lead that she was staying ahead. Thankfully, Ran caught up to her once they reached the house. Tsugumi was frozen in place. She looked terrified.

"Tsugu? Come on, let's go back. We shouldn't be here." Ran insisted, tugging on Tsugumi's sleeve.

"I... I can do it. I just have to go inside... it won't be that bad." Tsugumi gulped.

"You don't need to do this. Come on, everyone will be worried about us by now." Ran tried to pull her back.

"I'm going in." Tsugumi stated.

"Tsugu!" Ran yelped as Tsugumi ran up to the front door.

Ran followed behind her. She wasn't letting Tsugumi go in alone. She would never forgive herself if something happened and she just stood back and watched.

"A-are you sure it's safe? Even if no witch actually lives here... it looks a little old..." Ran stumbled over her words as fear started taking over, "It might collapse if you open the door."

Right as she said that, the door opened on it's own. They both screamed in fear and jumped back, falling backwards onto the ground. They were both shaking as they looked at each other.

"L-let's leave n-now." Ran stammered.

Tsugumi nodded. They both stood up.

"Guys!"

The others finally caught up. They ran up to where the two girls stood.

"Are you okay? You look terrified?" Tomoe asked.

"T-the door opened by itself..." Tsugumi mumbled.

"Probably just an old door. Might've been loose and you accidentally knocked it open." Sayo tried to explain it.

"Y-yeah..." Tsugumi took a deep breath.

They all turned to leave. None of them wanted to remain here. It was spooky.

"Huh? The... the path..." Ako gulped.

"It's... blocked."

Bushes had grown over the path. No one knew how. Tomoe walked up to it and tugged at the bush.

"It's thick. We can't climb through or break it apart." Tomoe stated.

"What do we do?" Moca asked.

"Well... I... I think we only have... one option." Rinko whispered as she pointed to the open front door.

"I hate to admit it, but Rinko is right. There's no way out. We have to go in and look for a backdoor." Sayo agreed.

"G-go in there!? B-but the witch!"

"We don't have a choice. You can stay out here if you want but this is our only option."

After a bit of discussion, they all entered into the house. The door slammed shut loudly behind them. Everyone jumped.

"No... no... we're... we're locked inside..." Tsugumi stammered as Himari tried to open the door.

"It's okay, Tsugu. I doubt anything bad will happen to us." Tomoe wrapped an arm around her.

"Let's split up and look around. There has to be a door here that leads outside." Sayo said.

The groups split up to search. They didn't want to split up too much in case something bad happened. The more people, the better.

"Weird. This door won't open. It's not locked, though." Himari mumbled.

"Something might be blocking it." Moca assumed.

"Well, is there anything of use in this place?" Ran asked.

"I... I found... a diary?" Tsugumi stated as she held out a page.

"What does it say?" Tomoe asked.

"Hmm... 'It's not fun being me. If only I wasn't so sick. If only I wasn't so afraid of being judged. I just want to be a normal girl. Is that too much to ask?'" Tsugumi read.

"Do you think it could be the diary of the witch?" Himari asked.

"Maybe it is. We should keep it to show the others." Moca nodded.

Tsugumi folded up the paper and put it in her pocket. They continued searching around the room.

Roselia was having no more luck than they were. The room they entered also had a door that wouldn't open. This one was locked.

"There must be a key around here somewhere." Lisa said.

"Maybe it's down that hallway?" Ako suggested.

There was a dark hallway leading to god knows where. It was too dark to make anything out. No one really wanted to go down it.

"Hmm? I found a flashlight." Yukina said.

She had opened a cabinet and discovered the flashlight. She tried it out. It turned on.

"Who wants to go down the hallway?"

"I'll go." Sayo offered.

Yukina handed her the flashlight. Sayo hesitated before she walked over to the hallway. She turned on the flashlight and slowly entered. She wouldn't admit it, but she was scared.

Sayo cautiously moved through it. It was a long hallway. Longer than she had thought. The others lost sight of her as she went deeper. They had no choice but to just hope for the best.

Sayo found a room. She tried the door. It was unlocked. She entered the room. There was some light in it, so she turned off the flashlight. Who knew how much she could use it before it died on her?

Sayo investigated the room. She hoped the key to opening the door was in here somewhere. It appeared to be a study. There were papers strewn all over the place. It was a mess.

Sayo came to the desk in the room. She noticed a piece of paper with writing on it. It appeared to be a diary entry.

"'Mom and dad say they care about me. They tell me in amazing and the best. I know they're lying. I'm a shame to them. They don't love me. I'm a failure.'" Sayo whispered.

She didn't quite understand. She knew whoever wrote the entry had family problems. She just didn't know to what extent. Sayo also assumed it was the witch who had written it.

Sayo started digging around the desk. Was there a key here? She hoped so.

She opened up one of the drawers. A glare caught her attention. There was a key. Sayo grabbed it. This was hopefully the key to the door.

Sayo headed out of the room. She turned the flashlight back on and started heading back. She got an eerie feeling as she walked. It felt like she was being watched. Sayo felt something touch her from behind.

She whipped around. Someone, or something, was standing behind her. In its hands was a bat. The thing raised its arms, or whatever they were, above its head. Sayo let out a scream, before the bat was brought down onto her head.

Her scream was cut short as she crumpled to the ground. A pool of blood started forming under her head. The thing vanished almost instantly. There was no trace left of whatever it was.

"Sayo!?"

At the sound of her scream, the others rushed down the hallway. They found her unconscious.

"What do we do?" Ako asked, "That's... that's a lot of blood..."

"Let's get her back into the light." Lisa said as she picked Sayo up.

"She found a key." Rinko said as she picked it up off the ground.

"Let's hope that door opens into a room with bandages." Yukina stated, "Let's go."

They quickly made their way back to the room. Rinko unlocked the door with the key. Inside the new room was a kitchen.

"Great... like there will be any medical supplies here..." Lisa grumbled.

"Um... how about my blazer?" Ako suggested, "It's the best we got. I'm sure there will be a knife or scissors we can cut it with."

"Good thinking, Ako." Lisa nodded, "Let's find something sharp."

Lisa set Sayo down on the counter. It was large enough for her to fit and it was completely empty. Ako hurriedly removed her blazer and handed it to Lisa. Lisa tried to tear it as the others looked for something sharp.

"Here's some scissors." Yukina handed them to Lisa.

Lisa grabbed them and quickly cut the blazer. She wrapped it around Sayo's head and tied it the best she could. Hopefully it was enough for now. They really needed a first aid kit.

"Let's hope the others are having more luck."

...

"Huh? There's something here." Ran said.

"What is it?"

"It looks like a puzzle. There's a weirdly shaped hole in the wood. Maybe we need to put an item in it?" Ran did her best to describe it.

"That is a weird shape." Everyone agreed.

They started searching around for something that matched the shape. It was tough. They tried many different objects, but none were working. It looked hopeless. They were running out if things to try.

Himari found a box. It wouldn't open no matter what she tried. She took a shot and pushed it into the hole. It went in and a clicking sound was made.

"You did it!"

"Is the door open now?" Moca asked.

Tsugumi hesitantly tried the door again. This time, it did open. They entered into the new room. It was... something.

"What is this place?"

The room was mainly empty except for a fireplace and a carpet. There was no furniture anywhere in the room. It was very strange.

"Well, let's see what's here." Himari said.

They spread out to search the room. Tomoe and Moca investigated the carpet. Tsugumi was looking around to see if anything was hidden from sight. Himari and Ran were investigating the fireplace.

Tomoe pulled the carpet up. Moca looked underneath, but found nothing. They both shrugged. Was the carpet just for show?

"Maybe the design could mean something?" Moca suggested.

"Maybe." Tomoe agreed.

They carefully looked over the pattern, trying to see if there was anything strange about it. They weren't having much luck. It was hard to keep track of all the designs on it.

Himari and Ran were feeling the bricks of the fireplace. It felt stupid, but maybe one of the bricks was a lever. They had just solved a puzzle, so it wasn't that crazy to think about.

Ran reached out and touched the firewood, "Huh? It's... it's plastic."

"That's strange." Himari commented, "Why would they put fake wood in the fireplace?"

"I don't know." Ran cautiously moved closer and peaked into the fireplace.

She looked around, but didn't see anything. Her hands were getting covered in soot, though. That made it all weirder. Why was there soot if the wood was fake? It just didn't add up.

Tsugumi didn't find anything else. She looked carefully, but nothing stood out. There truly was not anything else in this room.

Ran lost her balance and quickly grabbed onto the firewood to steady herself. The wood moved forward and the next thing she new she was falling. She didn't even have time to scream before she hit something and landed.

She landed on a sack of something. From the smell, she really didn't want to find out what it was.

"Ran!? Are you okay!?" Himari called out from above.

"Yeah! There's another room down here! I see a hallway!" Ran yelled back up.

"Is it safe to come down?"

"Yeah. There's sacks full of... something to soften the fall. It smells like rotting flesh, though." Ran replied.

"I guess we're coming down."

Ran moved off of the sacks and then waited for the others. Himari came down first. She gagged at the smell. Ran pulled her out of the way. Tsugumi came down next. She shivered at the smell and quickly moved away from the sacks.

Tomoe and Moca came down together. Tomoe sent Moca a glare. Moca stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Enough, you two. We need to find a way out." Himari said.

The five of them headed to the hallway.

...

"This door is locked too..." Ako whined.

"Looks like there's another key we need to find." Rinko said.

"We best get looking." Yukina stated, "We need to get out as soon as possible."

Lisa watched as they started searching the kitchen. She was watching over Sayo. They needed someone to make sure nothing bad happened to her. If her condition worsened, they'd need to react immediately.

"I found a weird book." Yukina said.

She held a book out. It was clean. There was no dust on it like the other objects in the room. That made it extremely suspicious.

"Open it." Ako said.

Yukina tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. She frowned and examined the book closer. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with it. It just didn't want to open.

"Is everything locked in this place...?" Lisa sighed.

"Maybe it's a key?" Rinko suggested, "It may... belong somewhere else."

"But where could that be?"

Sayo groaned in pain. All eyes landed on her. Lisa felt her forehead. Thankfully it wasn't hot. That would be a bad sign.

Sayo opened her eyes slightly. She blinked a few times and then glanced around.

"Hey, how do you feel?" Lisa asked.

"Dizzy..." Sayo mumbled.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Lisa questioned.

"I dunno what it was... but this thing came up behind me and hit me with a bat." Sayo replied, "Is it bad?"

"Yeah... it's not looking very good." Lisa bit her lip.

"Where did you find the key at?" Rinko asked.

"There was a study down the hallway. It was in the desk." Sayo said.

"Maybe the book goes in there." Rinko explained.

"It's dangerous to go alone in this house. Two people should go." Lisa stated.

"Rin-Rin and I can go!" Ako offered.

"Stay safe."

The two of them left. Sayo sighed as she closed her eyes. Her head hurt a lot and her vision would randomly spin. It was disorienting.

"Is there any water in here?" Lisa asked as she opened up the fridge.

She sighed. It was empty. It even had cobwebs growing in it.

"Hopefully the door will be unlocked soon and we can get out." Yukina said.

"Yeah..." Lisa nodded.

"Where are we?" Sayo asked as she looked around the room.

"Kitchen, apparently. Only knives and scissors are here, though." Lisa replied.

...

Ako and Rinko made their way down the hall. No one had taken the flashlight, so they had to navigate in the dark. When they found the flashlight again, it was dead. They had no light.

They managed to find the study and entered the room. They searched around to see if there was an empty space in one of the bookshelves.

"Rin-Rin, I found o-" Ako was cut short as the same thing that had attacked Sayo appeared.

Ako screamed and backed away. Rinko ran over to her. She gulped at the thing. It appeared to be a statue. A statue that could move. It looked like a girl. She was armed with the same bat. It even had some blood on it still.

The statue moved closer. Rinko put herself in front of Ako. She glared at the statue. The statue paused and then retreated.

"Thank god it's gone..." Ako sighed in relief.

"Yeah..." Rinko nodded, "You found a spot?"

Ako nodded, "Yeah. I'll show you."

Ako led Rinko to where the empty spot was. Rinko slid in the book. They heard a click sound from far away.

"I hope that was the door."

...

Himari and Moca led the way into the hallway. It was lit by candles hanging on the walls. They cautiously looked around. It felt eerie. Like something was going to happen.

They were right. A pop sounded from down the hall. Himari's eyes widened as she saw something flying toward them.

"Get down!" Himari yelped.

Everyone dove to the ground. The object whizzed by. They heard a thud as it hit the other end of the hallway. Everyone was shaken up.

"I don't wanna be here..." Tsugumi whispered, "I wanna go home..."

"I know... I'm sure we all do. We have to keep pushing onward. It's not like we can even go back. We can't climb up." Ran said.

Everyone slowly stood back up. They cautiously moved forward again. Thankfully, nothing else was thrown at them. They made it safely to the other end of the hallway. They exited it and found themselves in a garden.

...

Rinko and Ako returned to the kitchen. The door was now open. The others were waiting for them.

"You did it." Yukina nodded in approval.

"Let's see where it takes us."

Lisa, once again, had to carry Sayo. They walked through the door and found themselves in the garden as well. Afterglow entered moments after they did.

"S-Sayo?"

"Something attacked her." Lisa explained.

"We better find our way out soon."

"There's a gate blocking our way. We need to open the padlock." Ako stated.

"Let's get looking."

Everyone started searching around the garden, looking for a key. Lisa found a bench and laid Sayo down on it. At some point she had fallen unconscious again. This wasn't good. They needed to get out as soon as possible.

"There's nothing here..." Moca whined, "It's just plants!"

"Not just plants." A voice deflected, "You just... aren't looking closely enough."

"Who's there!?" Tomoe demanded.

A figure appeared in a tree in the garden. They were transparent and their form wasn't stable. It was hard to tell what they were at all.

"There's a hidden area. You just need to find the switch to unlock it." The figure said, "Though... be careful going in. One of our... more aggressive friends is... within."

"You know who attacked Sayo, then?" Rinko asked.

"Of course. She is part of the reason I was created. She apologizes for harming your friend, you know. It's just, you can never be too cautious around unfamiliar faces." The figure... nodded?

"Do you know why we were trapped here?" Ran questioned.

"I do. And... so does one of you. At least, I'd assume by now they figured it out." The figure laughed, "They won't talk. I suggest not trying."

"Why are you being nice to us?" Yukina asked.

"I don't have a reason to harm you."

The figure vanished after that. Everyone looked at each other. The figure had told them a lot.

"I guess let's find the switch." Lisa said.

"Who knows why we're here?" Ran demanded.

"Ran, that thing said they won't tell us even if they know." Tsugumi said.

"Why not? What are you hiding?"

"Drop it. We'll figure it out eventually. Let's get searching. You seem to be forgetting about Sayo. She'll die if we can't get out soon." Himari cut Ran off from interrogating anyone.

"Right... sorry..." Ran sighed.

"Well... I guess whoever it is must have a relationship with the witch. And not a good one." Moca offered, "The witch must've gotten pissed they came back and we all just were with them."

"This sucks..."

They searched all over the garden. It still was hard to locate the switch the figure talked about. It was very well hidden. It ended up being found when Ako tripped over it.

She activated the switch and a wall moved. There was now a passageway. It was lit up, thankfully. They didn't have to worry about a light source.

"I'm guessing the key is down there somewhere."

"But... that thing said a dangerous friend of theirs lives down there... it's not safe."

"We don't have a choice."

After a bit more banter, three people went down. Tomoe, Yukina, and Moca were chosen to go down. They walked quietly, unsure if noise was the key to drawing out the creature living within.

"I see a cage." Moca whispered.

They walked up to it. It was dark inside the cell. Only a faint light trickled in. Yukina tested the door. It was open.

"I guess we should go investigate." Tomoe gulped.

All of them were equally scared of the place. None of them knew what to expect. That creature could strike at any moment.

Tomoe entered first. Yukina and Moca followed behind her. They slowly walked into the room. Everyone froze when they heard something move. It sounded like chains rattling.

The cell burst into light. There was... a creature chained up. The thing looked human... but at the same time, it didn't. Its eyes shown with bloodlust. It wanted to kill them, no doubt.

"The key is... with that thing..." Tomoe whispered.

The key that they assumed opened the padlock was indeed at the creature's side. They'd have to be right next to it to get the key. None of them knew what to do.

The creature lunged at them, making them all scream and jumped back. The chain was long. But, it was yanked back before it could jump on top of them. A girl was standing at the back of the cell. She held the chain in her hands. The creature growled and sulked over to the girl.

The girl looked at them. She had no eyes. Well, she didn't really have a face. It was all deformed. They couldn't make out much of it.

The girl picked up the key and threw it at them. They didn't waste any time and grabbed the key and booked it out of the room. They shut the door and quickly went back to the others.

"Did you get it?" Lisa asked as they came back.

"Yeah." Moca held the key up.

"Did you see the thing that figure was talking about?" Ako asked.

"Yeah... it... it was guarding the key." Tomoe nodded, "But, this... girl? Um... she held them back and tossed us the key."

"Why are they helping us now?" Tsugumi questioned.

"I believe it may have to do with the one who knows the witch." Himari offered, "They might have been told to leave her alive and... us too."

"Anyway, let's hope this gate leads outside." Moca unlocked the padlock.

They all entered. It wasn't the outside. It was a bedroom. A bedroom filled with blood. Everyone was creeped out. This wasn't looking good.

Something moved in the corner of the room. A girl limped toward them. Her eyes were cloudy. It didn't look as though she could see. Her left leg was horrible mutilated. How she was standing was beyond them all. Her throat was sliced open.

"W-what?" Everyone was watching her in terror.

"A-are you the witch?" Himari asked.

The girl held a knife in her hands. She charged at them. The gate was locked. They couldn't leave the room. They had to dodged her.

The girl seemed to be targeting Rinko. She cornered her against a wall.

"You won't get your way. Trust me." Rinko whispered as a smirk danced across her face.

"Rinko!"

The girl was tackled to the ground. The knife was sent across the floor. The girl was restrained.

"What should we do?" Yukina asked.

"I don't know... we still need to get out but if she-"

"Rinko, put down the knife!" Ako yelped.

Everyone turned to look at them. Rinko held the knife the girl had had in her grasp moments ago. Ako was trying to take it from her. Rinko was glaring at the girl. Everyone knew why. It appeared Rinko wanted to kill her now.

"Rinko, she's restrained. We don't need to kill her, okay?" Lisa calmly said.

Rinko sighed and let go of the knife. She couldn't do anything with them all watching.

"Look! A door!" Tsugumi called.

A door appeared. Tomoe opened it. It led outside.

"We can leave."

"Let's take her with. Get her help." Ran said, "It doesn't feel right to leave her here."

"I suppose we should help her." Moca nodded.

"But... but she tried to kill us." Rinko protested.

"I'm sure if we help her she'll regret it."

So, they took her out of the house. They immediately went and called an ambulance. The police got involved too. Everyone had to stay and answer questions. Well, expect for Sayo. That had to wait until she recovered.

...

The girl they had saved was slowly recovering. Everyone visited her. Well, not Rinko. She refused to. No one argued with her about it.

Today, Ran and Tomoe decided to go and visit her.

"Hey." They entered the room.

"Hi..."

"They managed to fix your throat?" Tomoe asked.

The girl nodded, "Yeah..."

"So, can you tell us why you trapped us in the house?" Ran asked.

"I... I guess I can."

...

_"Rinko, I know you like to play in the woods. Be careful. A witch is said to live there."_

_"I'll be careful, mom, I promise."_

_A_ _young_ _Rinko wandered into_ _the_ _wood to go play by_ _herself_ _. She wandered farther than normal and stumbled upon a house. The door was open._

_Rinko felt something calling her inside. She entered the house and looked around. It was nicely_ _decorated_ _._

_A girl around her age came out of a different room, "Hello! Do you want to play with me?"_

_Rinko studied the girl. She wore a simple dress and looked a little sickly._

_"Sure." Rinko agreed._

_The two of them entered a room. It was a big room with a lot of space. The two girls played together happily._

_"What's your name?" Rinko asked._

_"You can call me Chiyu."_

_For the next few days, Rinko always went back to the house. Her and Chiyu would play together until Rinko had to leave. Until, one day._

_"Hey, Rinko? You_ _know_ _I'm_ _a witch and all, right?" Chiyu asked._

_Rinko nodded._

_"Well,_ _I_ _wanna trade places for a day._ _Wouldn't_ _it be fun to see what_ _it's like_ _as each other?" Chiyu asked._

_"It... sounds fun." Rinko agreed._

_"Let's do it tomorrow!"_

_So, the next day, Rinko found Chiyu in her bedroom. Chiyu smiled and asked Rinko to sit in a chair by her bed._

_"_ _I'm_ _gonna do the spell now, okay?" Chiyu said._

_Rinko nodded. Chiyu recited a spell. The next thing they knew, they were in_ _each_ _others bodies._

_Rinko, now is Chiyu's body, let out a scream as pain_ _overcame_ _her._

_"What's wrong?" Chiyu, now in Rinko's body, asked, "Oh... my leg, right."_

_Chiyu chuckled, "You see, Rinko..._ _I_ _don't_ _want to live here anymore. You have such a wonderful life. I want that. So,_ _you'll_ _take my place here. But,_ _can't_ _have you telling anyone."_

_Chiyu grabbed a knife. She smiled as she sliced Rinko's face. Rinko was screaming in pain as she pleaded_ _for_ _Chiyu to stop. Chiyu just laughed and slashed her throat as well._

_"Have fun, Rinko."_

...

"Wait... then, who are you?" Ran asked.

"I'm Rinko."

"That's why you attacked her and... why she wanted to kill you..."

"What do we do?" Ran asked Tomoe.

"I think we should tell everyone." Tomoe replied.

"It'll be alright, Rinko. We'll see if we can get Chiyu to give you your body back."

...

"What!?"

When Ran and Tomoe explained the situation to everyone else, Chiyu not included, they were all shocked.

"So... this entire time... that hasn't really been Rinko..."

"Apparently."

"What are we gonna do about it?" Ako questioned.

"Well, the only thing we really can do is try and get Chiyu to switch bodies again." Tomoe sighed, "Though... I doubt that'll be easy to do."

"I'll get her to." Ako stated.

Ako was probably the most hurt out of all of them. She had been lied to this entire time. Her supposed "best friend" was a fake. That wasn't something she could just forgive.

"Ako, it's really dangerous. No one knows what she will do when we approach her." Tomoe stared her down.

"I'm doing it and you can't stop me." Ako huffed.

"At least don't go alone. Let some others come too." Tomoe pleaded. She couldn't risk Ako going by herself and getting hurt or possibly killed.

"Fine." Ako agreed.

"And, it's getting late. Do it tomorrow."

...

The next day, Ako, along with Tomoe, Moca, and Lisa, went to confront Chiyu. They went to her house. She was confused by them all being there, but invited them in.

They cornered her so she couldn't run. Once she was trapped, Ako began the threatening.

"We know what's going on. You aren't Rinko." Ako stated with a glare.

"What do you mean?" Chiyu was obviously trying to play dumb.

"They fixed her throat so she can talk. Rinko told us the truth about you, Chiyu." Ako growled, "So, give her body back."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop playing dumb! Your actions in the house just confirmed everything." Ako wasn't happy with the way this conversation was going.

"You can't make me give her body back." Chiyu gave up pretending, "The only way we can switch is if both parties trust each other. That won't happen."

"There's another way, isn't there? You just don't want us to know."

"I'm telling you the truth. The way we switched was built on trust. It has to be the same to return bodies." Chiyu replied in a calm manner, "And, I don't have magic anymore. Only she does. The magic is with the body, not the soul."

"You will give her her body back one way or another. We are going now."

Chiyu was drug out of the house and to the hospital. She didn't bother fighting back. She was heavily outnumbered.

They soon entered the room where Rinko was. Rinko couldn't see, but she could sense Chiyu's presence in the room. She scowled at the feeling.

"Trade bodies now." Ako demanded.

"I've told you, we can't." Chiyu stated.

"If she's touching me... I can do it." Rinko said, "The demon told me, Chiyu. I don't think she really cares which one of us lives and which one dies."

Chiyu growled. She was brought over. She cursed them all out, but ultimately gave in and placed her hand on Rinko's hand. Rinko whispered something.

The atmosphere in the room changed. They had traded places. They were back in their own bodies again. Rinko stared in disbelief as she studied her body. It was surreal to actually be back in it. She had been certain she would never get to be herself ever again.

"Chiyu, will you explain why you're the way you are?" Lisa asked, "Tsugumi showed us part of your diary."

"I... I don't like remembering it. But... I... I was a normal child until... I was eight. I got a terminal illness. It wasn't that bad, though. But, my parents were musicians and... I just wanted to be like them. They... pushed me too much and... I worsened quickly. They ignored me once I couldn't live up to their names anymore." Chiyu whispered.

"Where are your parents now?" Tomoe asked.

Chiyu didn't reply.

"She killed them." Rinko said, "When we traded bodies, her memories became mine. She... killed them one day out of anger. She just wanted to be loved and they denied her that."

"You could be adopted by a family. They'll love you." Ako said, "Wouldn't that be okay?"

"I don't care."

"We'll be telling the police this information."

"Go ahead."

They left the room. Ako immediately started talking to Rinko.

"So, you know those things that we all encountered in the house?" Ako asked.

Rinko nodded, "Yeah. Most of them are workers."

"Interesting staff you have then."

"If you describe them, I can tell you a bit more. I guess you could call them my friends." Rinko said.

"Statue-like thing. It was carrying a bat. Looks feminine." Ako described the one she had encountered.

"Oh, that's Rei."

"Nearly killed one of us..."

"Yeah... sorry about that... they're used to killing people to... sacrifice to the house." Rinko said.

"What?"

"The house required sacrifices." Rinko shrugged, "Don't ask me why."

"Okay, well, what's Rei like?"

"She's pretty nice if you're a friend. She's our guard. Makes sure nothing bad is happening." Rinko responded.

"This shadowy figure said Rei is the reason she was created." Tomoe said.

"Masuki. Yeah, um... basically too many tasks, not enough time." Rinko explained the best she could, "Masuki is our cook and also the one who got deliveries of medicine for me."

"How about the um... animal-like human thingy chained up in the cell and the girl who was with her." Tomoe asked next.

"The first one is Pareo. She... well... she was a victim of the house who's spirit stayed in the house. That's why she looks so deformed. The girl, though... I don't know." Rinko said.

"Her face was all deformed. We couldn't make out much." Moca said.

"Oh... that's Rokka. She's the demon who first gave Chiyu her powers as a witch. She possessed that body of one of the sacrifices and has been using it for a while." Rinko said.

"So, the demon wanted us to live?"

"She finds it entertaining to watch humans... says it's funny to see them suffering."

"How did she run into Chiyu?" Ako asked.

"Rokka ate Chiyu's parents' souls after she killed them." Rinko explained, "Decided to reward her and gave her the house and her powers."

"That's... messed up."

...

Months had passed. Chiyu had recovered enough to be released. She had to have her leg amputated and her eyes were unable to be saved. A family had said they were willing to adopt her.

Chiyu hated life. She didn't want to be with a family. She was happier by herself with the house. Chiyu still had her magic, though weaker now. She decided to use it to her advantage.

One night, she made it so she could see and ran away. To where? No one has been able to locate her. It was assumed she met an unfortunate end, but Afterglow and Roselia know that isn't the case. Chiyu is still out there.

Possibly waiting for another victim.


End file.
